Single-Cell Oils from Oleaginous Microorganisms as Green Bio-Lubricants: Studies on Their Tribological PerformanceShow others and affiliations
2021 (English)In: Energies, E-ISSN 1996-1073, Vol. 14, no 20, article id 6685
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Biolubricants refer to eco-friendly, biodegradable, and non-toxic lubricants. Their applications are still limited compared to mineral oils; however, their sustainable credentials are making them increasingly attractive. Vegetable oils are frequently used for this purpose. However, vegetable oils have issues of low lipid productivity, dependence on climatic conditions, and need for agricultural land. Microbial oils represent a more sustainable alternative. To ensure their widespread applicability, the suitability of microbial oils from a physicochemical point of view needs to be de-termined first. In this study, oils obtained from various oleagenic microbes—such as microalgae, thraustochytrids, and yeasts—were characterized in terms of their fatty acid profile, viscosity, friction coefficient, wear, and thermal stability. Oleaginous microalgal strains (Auxenochlorella protothe-coides and Chlorella sorokiniana), thraustochytrids strains (Aurantiochytrium limacinum SR21 and Au-rantiochytrium sp. T66), and yeast strains (Rhodosporidium toruloides and Cryptococcus curvatus) synthesized 64.5%, 35.15%, 47.89%, 47.93%, 56.42%, and 52.66% of lipid content, respectively. Oils from oleaginous microalgae (A. protothecoides and C. sorokiniana) and yeasts (R. toruloides and C. curvatus) possess excellent physicochemical and tribological qualities due to high amount of monounsatu-rated fatty acids (oleic acid C18:1 content, 56.38%, 58.82%, 46.67%, 38.81%) than those from oleaginous thraustochytrids (A. limacinum SR21 and Aurantiochytrium sp. T66; 0.96%, 0.08%, respectively) supporting their use as renewable and biodegradable alternatives to traditional mineral oil-based lubricants. Oil obtained from microalgae showed a lower friction coefficient than oils obtained from yeasts and thraustochytrids.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2021. Vol. 14, no 20, article id 6685
Keywords [en]
microbial oil, tribology, microalgae, yeast, thraustochytrids, biolubricants
National Category
Other Mechanical Engineering
Research subject
Biochemical Process Engineering; Machine Elements
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-87724DOI: 10.3390/en14206685ISI: 000715306200001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85117280607OAI: oai:DiVA.org:ltu-87724DiVA, id: diva2:1607698
Funder
Swedish Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning, 2019-01162Swedish Research Council, .2019-04941
Note
Validerad;2021;Nivå 2;2021-11-02 (beamah)
2021-11-022021-11-022025-02-14Bibliographically approved